Gunman scare at SJSU forces building lockdown and search, but turns up no suspect

Students wait outside of Sweeney Hall as members of the San Jose Police Department and San Jose State University Police Department search for a man who reportedly had a gun on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 in San Jose, Calif. Sweeney Hall was in a shelter in place during the search in which no suspect was found. (Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE -- The reported sighting of a handgun paralyzed a San Jose State University classroom building Thursday morning, with students, staff and faculty hiding behind barricaded doors while police hunted room-by-room for a gunman who didn't materialize.

It also produced an odd contrast because as four-story Sweeney Hall in the campus's southwest end was sealed off by a sizable police force, the rest of the school remained open.

Alma Campos, 19, was on the building's third floor about to start a kinesiology lesson when she and her classmates got a text message from the university to shelter in place.

"We were in the middle of class, and we saw cops outside," Campos said.

Campos said she and her classmates remained in their seats during the lockdown, adding that her fears were heightened by mass shootings that have grabbed national headlines every few months.

"I was scared because there's a lot of shootings at schools," Campos said. "I didn't want anything to happen to me or my classmates."

A student went to campus police -- headquartered just south of Sweeney Hall -- around 9 a.m. to report seeing a white male clad in black clothing and holding a handgun, university spokeswoman Pat Lopes Harris said.

About 30 minutes later, a schoolwide text-message alert was broadcast warning about the gun sighting and that police were "checking Sweeney Hall -- shelter in place." A second text went out with the suspect description and "Sweeney Hall shelter in place."

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The approximately 300 people inside the building, which houses the College of Education, locked their doors and blocked them with desks, chairs and other objects. Meanwhile, heavily armed officers from the University Police Department -- joined by San Jose police and agents from the Department of Homeland Security -- assembled outside and spent the next two hours combing the building for the reported gunman.

They finished their search just before 11 a.m. without encountering him and gave the building an all-clear.

"We were pleased to find that the faculty, staff and students who were sheltering in place had done an excellent job of barricading themselves in their offices and classrooms," Harris said. "It took a while because they would not open their doors, even when the police came."

The latter part of Harris' remark refers to a prevailing practice in "active shooter" responses where the barricaded must consider the possibility of a gunman impersonating an officer to gain entry.

Elsewhere on campus, the alert caused confusion because it wasn't entirely clear whether the shelter-in-place order was directed only at those inside Sweeney Hall or the campus as a whole. Harris said the moment demanded that those inside the building be warned of the danger, even if it meant alarming those outside the target area.

"We're sorry for any confusion that resulted. With any alert system, the priority is to provide instruction to the people who may be in danger," Harris said.

As to why the rest of the campus was allowed to continue normal activity, police officers' proximity to Sweeney Hall allowed them to quickly seal off the building exits and decide that any potential threat was contained inside the building.

"It would have been difficult to leave that building," Harris said. "It is a judgment call, and we made the very best judgment we could. If we thought students were at risk for sure, we would be closing down our campus."

While no gunman was found, Harris said the student tip was strong enough to spur the ensuing response.

"San Jose State police interviewed the student who reported the gunman and determined it was a credible threat," she said.

Police remain on the lookout for a suspect but don't believe there is an ongoing danger to the campus.

"We will stay very vigilant in the next 24 to 48 hours looking out for this individual," Harris said.

Anyone with information about the case can contact university police at 408-924-2222.